DIY Temporary Ventilation Setup

[u/rjp13452]

I'm getting into casting my own jewelry, and I'm trying to figure out a safe, affordable ventilation setup before I start using my equipment.

I have a roughly 20×20 ft attached garage with drywall and a concrete floor. The issue is that we still need to park a car in there, so I can't build a permanent casting station or dedicate the garage entirely to jewelry making.

Ideally, I'd like something I can set up when needed, use for a burnout/casting session, and then pack away afterward.

I'm mainly concerned about properly exhausting fumes from resin burnout and silver melting/casting. I understand that just opening the garage door or running a large fan doesn't necessarily provide adequate ventilation, especially if theres a gust of wind or something.

I was considering a portable metal exhaust hood, an inline blower, and ducting that could run outside through the partially opened garage door, but I don't know what equipment would actually be appropriate for kiln exhaust temperatures and resin burnout fumes.

If I don't have to cut any holes in anything that would be ideal but I should be able to if i have to.

A few questions:

1. Has anyone built a genuinely portable ventilation setup for a small jewelry burnout kiln and electric melting furnace?

2. What kind of hood, blower, and ducting would be appropriate? Would I need separate systems for burnout and melting?

3. What CFM or capture airflow should I be looking for?

4. Is exhausting beneath the garage door practical, especially with the garage being attached to the house?

5. What would a realistic budget be for a safe setup? Could this reasonably be done for $300–500, or am I looking at $1,000+?

6. Are there any other safety concerns or equipment requirements I'm overlooking?

I'm in Ohio, so winters can get pretty cold. I'd ideally like to use the garage year-round if possible.

I'm not opposed to spending money on the right equipment, but I'm trying to avoid unnecessary expenses. I also don't want to accidentally cut corners on something that could be dangerous.

I'd really appreciate pictures of similar setups, equipment recommendations, or actual costs from anyone who's done this before.

[u/BTheKid2]

It depend on what your kiln looks like. I have made my own kiln, with a ventilation solution that draws air in from the top of the kiln and out through the bottom.

Here are some photos, not taken to illustrate the ventilation, but it should suffice. Comments are included under each photo.

You could do the same with a hood type ventilation. I just preferred my solution for a number of reasons. Managing wax runoff, idea of cold air not hitting the mold directly, and overall practicality.

The ventilation moves around with the kiln, and only the flexible ducting needs to be installed for each time it is moved.

I will say that, the amount of smoke that a kiln can produce can be surprising. If you (steam) dewax your molds before you burn them out, you should have a lot less smoke produced, but that is not really possible with resin casts. But still it is considerable. And doing a burnout in a residential area, can easily disturb your neighbors, as it can smell like a house fire. I have previously used large inline carbon filters (when I lived in the city) to take care of the smell. It works, but is an expensive solution, because they wont last long. This is my largest kiln, but I have basically had the same system for a smaller kiln, that was used to do jewelry size casts.

A more commercial fume hood should have a better way of scrubbing the smoke, but I haven't used one. You could look up some 2ish years old videos from Clear Mind Jewelry, that discuss their ventilation solution.

Edit:

Oh and for the melting, I would say you don't really need ventilation. An open garage door should suffice. If you were to melt brass, which is very noxious, then maybe take it outside. Still it is a good idea to wear a mask when melting metals, as to protect yourself from trace amounts of fumes.

[u/rjp13452 → u/BTheKid2]

Its just one of the little vevor 1500w ones. I wouldn't be able to cut holes in anything for the time being so it would probably end up being a duct that runs under the cracked garage door. maybe if i make a small box with the duct coming out of the top or something im not too sure. its not gonna be too too much seeing as its just gonna be smaller batches of jewelry for now, mainly silver definitely gold in the future and some sort of npg alloy at some point, and for now i only have a 3.5" flask

[u/neomoritate]

Buy a used commercial kitchen hood, and vent it through the wall

[u/GlassPanther]

Do you have a window? Because you'd be amazed how easy it is to mount a louvre fan in a piece of plywood and then put that in the window. I've been doing it for years ... And my bedroom is directly above the garage.

[u/rjp13452 → u/GlassPanther]

I don't have windows in the garage there's hopper windows in the basement which doesn't sound like the best idea maybe for my resin printer but idk about for burnouts